Viewers have slammed Channel Nine’s upcoming miniseries on Shane Warne, calling the “major drama” two-part event “embarrassing and disgraceful”.
The first promo ads for the miniseries aired during the first State of Origin game on Wednesday night, with the trailer showing actor Alex William depicting the late Australian cricketer.
The trailer was not well received by fans, with many saying it is “too soon” to be making a series about his life and death.
Warmie died in March 2022 of a suspected heart attack while on holiday in Thailand.
Just six months after his passing, the Nine Network confirmed the miniseries was in production, however, they did not disclose at the time that production began just three weeks after his death.
The series, called Warnie, is set to air over two nights later this year.
After the first trailer aired, many fans took to Twitter to express their disappointment over the show.
One disgruntled viewer wrote, “Are Channel Nine taking the piss with the Warnie mini series. That promo was s***house, embarrassing and disgraceful. Let him rest in peace.”
Another wrote, “Does anyone else think it’s too soon for a Warnie show on? He hasn’t even been gone for 15 months, and already the show seems filmed and ready to release.”
“How quickly after his passing did someone go ‘yep it’s time to make a show on his life?’”
A third person put it simply: “On the YeahNah scale the Warnie TV drama series look like a massive nah.”
The miniseries was filmed in the late cricketer’s hometown of Melbourne, and tells a dramatised version of Warnie’s remarkable sporting career and rise to fame.
Shane’s eldest daughter Brooke, 24, previously called Nine’s announcement of a telemovie based on her father “beyond disrespectful”, as he spent 23 years as a commentator for the network’s cricket coverage.
“Do any of you have any respect for dad? Or his family?” she wrote on Instagram.
“He did so much for Channel Nine and now you want to dramatise his life and our family’s life six months after he passed away? You are beyond disrespectful.”
Image credits: Nine
This article first appeared on Over60.